"As a mother, I understand that concerned parents deserve this information as quickly as we can gather and analyze it," EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson said Tuesday in a statement. "EPA, state, and local officials are mobilizing to determine where elevated levels of toxics pose a threat, so that we can take swift action to protect our children at their schools."

Children are particularly susceptible to toxic chemical. They breathe more air in proportion to their weight than adults do because their bodies are still developing. Exposure to some chemicals can trigger ailments such as asthma or lead to cancer years or even decades later.

From 1990 to 2005, emissions of air toxics in the United States declined 41 percent, according to EPA. Levels of air toxics, however, can vary widely from place to place depending upon a number of factors including the amount and types of industry nearby, proximity to heavily traveled or congested roadways, and weather patterns.

EPA said, with help from its state partners, it will prioritize and monitor schools for more extensive air quality analysis, looking closely at schools located near large industries and in urban areas.

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Editor:Yang Jie